


Washed Up... Again

by crystallineflowers



Category: Aveyond
Genre: Established Friendship, F/M, not my universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:48:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22398832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crystallineflowers/pseuds/crystallineflowers
Summary: Rhen washes ashore once more, ending up in Thais. Turns out she washed up at just the right time!
Relationships: Rhen Pendragon & Pirate John
Comments: 5
Kudos: 3
Collections: Aveyond Winter Exchange 2016+





	Washed Up... Again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ishti](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ishti/gifts).



> This was written for the Aveyond Winter Exchange 2019/2020! This was my gift to Ishti, and I tried to base it off of their book Rhenegade! I hope you like it, Ishti!

Rhen spat some sand out of her mouth and cursed. She should be used to this by now, she’s done it often enough. She stumbled to her feet and coughed, spitting out a bit more sand. She surveyed the beach around her, looking for her small crate of belongings.

She found it quickly, just down the beach, still drifting on the shallow waves. Rhen dragged it to shore and opened it, emptying the contents onto the sand. A coat, her old red scarf, and a small dagger fell out. As she dressed, she looked around the beach for signs of familiar surroundings. She could have sworn she’d seen this cove before…

There! She squinted at a crag just off the edge of the beach. It had a very distinct shape, one that she had only seen on the isle that housed Thais.

“Well, guess it’s time to pay John a visit again!”

~O~

John didn’t look surprised to see her, which shocked her a bit. It had been a while since she last visited. After they hugged, he patted the residual sand off her shoulders and grinned at her.

“Another mutiny?”

“To be fair, they wanted to start a slave trade. I’m sure you can see why I wasn’t having any of that on my ship.”

“Ah, yes, that would be a very inappropriate thing to drag you into.”

Rhen hopped up to sit on the stone fence. “So how are things here? Looks like you’re starting to gray, old man.”

“Hey, now!” John punched her arm lightly. “Teaching kids is stressful! They’re the reason for my gray hairs!” She laughed at that, and noticed he had a small smile on his face. He looked almost wistful.

“Things… things are good, Rhen. I never thought I’d be one to settle down in one place, but… here we are.”

“Who would’ve thought that not beaching ships would be good for you?”

“Oh, shut it.”

They sat in companionable silence for a few moments, listening to the gentle waves from the beach below. John lived on a cliff, the side of his house overlooking the ocean with nothing to impede its view. Rhen had to admit it was beautiful. Maybe she could consider settling down, she didn’t have responsibility as a queen anymore, she could just live in Thais or its outskirts, maybe work as an independent contractor for the king…

“So, Rhen, wanna go to a party?” John’s voice interrupted her thoughts, and she shook her head to clear it.

“What? A party?”

“Yeah, there’s this big tournament starting in a few days. You washed up here just in time!”

“Hey! How do you know I washed up here?”

John gave her a flat look. She stuck her tongue out at him.

“Anyway. Yeah, there’s this big fighting tournament. Maybe you should enter! School them all with your sword magic.”

“I don’t really think that’s fair, John.”

“Oh, it’ll be fine,” he grinned and clapped her on the shoulder. “Most of them have sword magic, too.”

Rhen’s eyes lit up with a mischievous sparkle. John smiled wider, knowing he won. “Want me to show you the sign-up spot?”

~O~

Rhen bumped her tankard against John’s with a shout that was drowned out by the rowdy men around them. She took a swig, the mead light on her tongue, and slammed the cup down, nearly spilling what was inside.

She wasn’t entirely sure why she signed up for the tournament. Maybe she just needed a break from the seas, maybe she wanted an excuse to hang out in Thais for a while, maybe she wanted the competition. 

That prize money was looking pretty good, too. Ten thousand gold pieces to the winner, and two thousand to both second and third place. Ten thousand would get Rhen a nice new ship, and a crew to match. Two thousand would get her a sloop, which would at least put her back on the water, and she was fairly sure she could find someone in Thais who wanted to get out to help her sail it.

A small scuffle broke out at a table nearby, and Rhen laughed as the barkeep dragged the offenders to the door and tossed them out to the street.

John challenged her to an arm-wrestling match, which she won easily. “You’re getting weak in your old age!” she taunted, much to his chagrin. John started calling for challengers, taking bets on who would win – the beefy middle-aged man who smelled of days-old alcohol, or the wiry girl with purple hair.

The wiry girl won, and she didn’t even need to cheat.

She and John left quickly once people started accusing them of cheating, their coin purses distinctively heavier than when the night started.

~O~

The crowd was roaring. Rhen didn’t think she had ever heard a crowd this loud. Were there really that many people in Thais? Wait, no. John mentioned that people were coming in from the Isles. Rhen found herself wishing that Peter was there. Maybe Clearwater would be her first stop once she got another ship.

Her opponent stepped out, a boy who looked to be about her age, maybe younger. He was wearing armour that looked too big for him, like he borrowed it. She almost felt bad for being the one to knock him out of the tournament, but as she watched him walk, she noticed he was shaking. Fear? Adrenaline? She unsheathed her rapier and took a fighting stance, and once the horn sounded the start of the tournament, she leapt, a song already in her throat.

The fights passed in a blur. She stomped and clapped and slapped her knees, dancing around her opponents as she buffeted them with wind and light and sound. As the tournament went on, the fights became dirtier. She got tripped up a few times, her songs getting cut short as she fell to the ground. Those instances only made her fight harder, her voice clashing with the voices of her opponents as they danced.

She wasn’t thinking about the tournament anymore. She wasn’t thinking about the prizes. All that she could focus on was her song, her fight, the feel of her sword in her hand and how it felt different between her left and right; the feel of magic grazing her as she dodged out of the way; the feel of magic coursing through her veins.

Suddenly, the day was over. She stood victorious over her last battle, her rapier pressed to his throat, his sword cast aside out of his reach. She realized she was panting, almost gasping for air. Her throat felt dry.

~O~

Rhen and John took refuge in a quieter tavern that night, downing light mead like it was water. She knew it wouldn’t affect her that much – her tolerance had gone up the longer she was at sea.

“Rhen, watching you fight is certainly an experience.”

“A good one or bad one?”

“A terrifying one. You’re ruthless.”

“I learned it from you.”

They sat in silence, sipping their mead and taking occasional bites of the bread and cheese platter set out in front of them. Rhen realized suddenly that she was tired - moreso than months on the sea, more than washing up on shore after being forced to abandon ship. She hadn’t fought like this in a long time, and it was wearing on her. She hoped she would be alright to fight the next day.

When they left the tavern, Rhen took the liberty of exploring Thais a bit. The city was clearly on the mend. Rhen spotted flowers outside of people’s houses, weeds sprouting in between the cobblestones, even some birds’ nests in the tree branches. Thais looked like it was healing, years of being cursed by demons finally being washed away. It seemed that Devin was doing well with picking Thais up off the ground and returning it to its former glory.

A small boy careened into her, bringing her out of her thoughts. He quickly apologized and moved to speed off, but Rhen grabbed his wrist before he could, yanking him back to her.

“Wanna give me back what you just took, or do I need to take it from you?”

She held her hand out, and the boy sheepishly handed back the small pouch of coins she had around her waist. Without letting him go, she fished a few out and pressed them into his palm. “For your trouble, kid.”

He paused, gave her a curt nod, and dashed away. She watched him go, her stomach sinking. Even with all the improvements, there were still children who needed to steal to survive.

~O~

The next day of fighting passed in a blur. Rhen felt herself getting tired, her voice going hoarse near the end of the day from her songs. She was covered in cuts and bruises, which John helped her patch up that evening. The fights lasted longer today; she was moving up in ranks, and there would only be a few more fights before the finals.

She was told that the finals would be in a week’s time, to give the fighters time to heal. She took solace in that she only had to make it through one more day before she could rest for a while.

As she and John were heading away from the arena, a familiar voice called out to her. “Rhen! Rhen, wait up!”

She turned around to see a mop of mossy green hair speeding towards her, and then there was Lars, standing tall in his blue sorcerer’s robes. He was panting slightly.

“Oh, Lars. Long time no see.”

“Mind if I join you tonight? I’d like to catch up.”

Rhen looked at John with questioning eyes, who just shrugged. “Yeah, sure. Go for it.”

Lars led them to yet another tavern – just how many did Thais have, anyway? – and they seated themselves in a corner far away from the door. Rhen wasn’t really sure why Lars decided to sit so far away, but she followed without comment.

She waited until they had received their drinks before she spoke up. “So, what’s new with you?”

Lars coughed as he took a sip of his juice – non-alcoholic. “Oh, uh. Well, I’m high sorcerer now.”

“Oh shit, congratulations.”

“Yeah, thanks. Um, what about you?”

“Oh, you know, the usual. Piracy, mutiny, washing up on shore. Nothing out of the ordinary here.”

“Wait, so you didn’t come to Thais on purpose?”

She laughed and took a swig of her mead. “Hell no. I just wound up here. Good timing, I guess.”

Lars barked a sort-of laugh. “You always did seem lucky.”

They chatted for a bit, the good food making for a buffer against awkward conversation. Rhen was surprised at how much she enjoyed talking with Lars. She hadn’t thought she missed the people from her first adventure so much, especially him.

~O~

The rest of the week until the finals passed in a blur. Rhen was victorious – barely – in the last battle that qualified her for the finals, and she practically slept the rest of the time. She attended an audience with Devin that wasn’t nearly as awkward as she was expecting it to be, and hid from the king of Sedona when she spotted him in the streets.

She and John were practically inseparable during her stay. When she wasn’t training or sleeping, she was with John, poking fun at him or listening to his lessons. He taught all sorts of things, but this week he seemed to be focus on different types of nautical knots. Rhen participated when she felt like it, but mostly she just watched, intrigued by how… different John was around his students.

Maybe she should…. No. She was still young. She had plenty of time to figure herself out. 

~O~

The day had come.

The roar of the crowd echoed in her ears, nearly drowned out by her own heartbeat. She was anxious. She knew these would be the toughest fights yet, but she kept telling herself that she had fought worse.

She had fought demons. She could handle some beefy knights.

Her opponent stepped out, a six-foot-five monster of a man, his sword bigger than Rhen’s entire arm. Her own rapier looked no more than a toothpick in comparison, but Rhen knew exactly where to stick it to make it hurt. Besides, a sword that big would be slow, and she was quick. She could handle this.  
There was silence for a beat, and then the horn, and Rhen waited.

She and her opponent circled each other, their swords drawn in an easy offensive position, feigning relaxation. He watched her like a cat watches a mouse, his eyes quick. She noted how thick his armor was, and how hard it would be to penetrate it. The joints would be her best bet. Her sword was perfect for getting into tiny spaces like that.

He was moving, his deep baritone voice ringing out and he charged forward with a battle cry. She realized belatedly that he wasn’t singing when no magic came – he was just yelling, trying to throw her off. She skipped to the side and flicked her rapier at him, but it bounced off, missing its mark.  
And then they were dancing. Rhen used his armor in her song, glancing her rapier off to make beautiful crashes in time with her tune. The magic around them swelled, his own song bouncing off hers, and strangely they weren’t clashing with each other, but working together. A tune here, repeated there, bounced back in a different cadence or key. Rhen felt exhilaration rush through her.

So this is what it felt like to truly use sword magic.

He was faster than she expected, and suddenly she was on her back, her rapier wrenched from her grasp, the sharp point of a sword pressing into her throat.  
Wait.

She lost?

~O~

Rhen hadn’t realized how much she was counting on that prize money until she was no longer in the running to have it.

“Aw, cheer up, Rhen. This just means you get to hang out with me for a bit longer while you find yourself some honest work!”

“Oh, shut up, John. You had to be coerced into doing ‘honest work.’”

He shrugged at that.

They were sitting on the docks like children, their feet hanging over the pier. Rhen looked out at the ocean wistfully.

“It’ll just be that much sweeter once you get back out there.”

“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”

John paused, and Rhen turned to look at him. He wasn’t looking at her, but instead out at the ocean. He looked… sad. “Not really.”

She looked away, feeling as if she had seen something she shouldn’t have. They sat in silence for a bit, listening to the bustle around them and the sound of the sea.

“Hey, John,” she said after a while. He made a questioning noise, and she turned to him with a grin.

“Wanna go on an adventure?”

**Author's Note:**

> Ishti, I just wanted to say that I LOVE how you incorporated singing into Rhen's battle style. It wasn't something that I had ever thought of, but I REALLY like that idea, so I hope I did it justice! It was a lot of fun writing this, but I really was flying by the seat of my pants here, so I hope it's at least coherent!
> 
> Participating in the winter exchange has been such a wonderful experience, and I really hope we can continue to do so and add to this little fandom of ours!


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